The author gave the title “Spring Thunderstorm” to his poem, but readers like to identify it precisely by the first line. No wonder. It is with rains, thunderstorms, and floods that the time of year comes that is associated with rebirth.
Tyutchev very subtly sensed all the changes in nature, its mood, and could describe it interestingly. The poet loved spring; he devoted many of his lyrical poetic creations to this topic. For the poet-philosopher, spring symbolizes youth and youth, beauty and charm, renewal and freshness. Therefore, his poem “Spring Storm” is a work that shows that hope and love can be reborn with a new, unknown force, with a force capable of more than just renewal.
A little about the poet
It is known that the poet-philosopher was born in November 1803 in Ovstug, where he spent his childhood. But the entire youth of the popular poet was spent in the capital. At first he received only home education, and then successfully passed the exams at the capital’s institute, where he studied well, and then graduated with a candidate’s degree in literary sciences. At the same time, in his youth, Fyodor Tyutchev began to become interested in literature and began making his first experiments in writing.
The diplomat was fascinated by his interest in poetry and literary life for the rest of his life. Despite the fact that Tyutchev lived far outside his homeland for 22 long years, he wrote poetry only in Russian. Fyodor Ivanovich for a long time held one of the official positions in the diplomatic mission, which at that time was in Munich. But this did not stop the lyricist from describing Russian nature in his poetic works. And when the reader delves into each of Tyutchev’s poems, he understands that this was written by a man who, with all his soul and heart, is always with his homeland, despite the kilometers.
Throughout his life, the poet wrote about four hundred poetic works. He was not only a diplomat and a poet. Fyodor Ivanovich translated works of poets and writers from Germany absolutely free of charge. Any of his works, whether his own or translated, struck me every time with its harmony and integrity. Each time, with his works, the author argued that man should always remember that he is also a part of nature.
The history of writing Tyutchev’s poem “I love a thunderstorm in early May...”
Tyutchev's poem “I love a thunderstorm in early May...” has several options. So, its first version was written by the poet in 1828, when he lived in Germany. Russian nature was constantly before the eyes of the most subtle lyricist, so he could not help but write about it.
And when spring began in Germany, according to the author himself, not much different from spring in his native places, he began to compare the climate and weather, and all this resulted in poetry. The lyricist recalled the sweetest details: the murmuring of a stream, which was attractive to a person who was far from his native land, heavy torrential rain, after which puddles formed on the roads, and, of course, a rainbow after the rain, which appeared with the first rays of the sun. Rainbow as a symbol of rebirth and victory.
When the lyric poet first wrote the spring poem “I Love a Thunderstorm in Early May...”, it was published in the small magazine “Galatea” already this year. But something confused the poet, and so he returned to him again after twenty-six years. He slightly changes the first poetic stanza, and also adds the second stanza. Therefore, in our time, it is the second edition of Tyutchev’s poem that is popular.
I love the storm in early May,
When spring, the first thunder,
as if frolicking and playing,
Rumbling in the blue sky.
Young peals thunder,
The rain is splashing, the dust is flying,
Rain pearls hung,
And the sun gilds the threads.
A swift stream runs down the mountain,
The noise of birds in the forest is not silent,
And the din of the forest and the noise of the mountains -
Everything cheerfully echoes the thunder.
You will say: windy Hebe,
Feeding Zeus's eagle,
A thunderous goblet from the sky,
Laughing, she spilled it on the ground.
The plot of Tyutchev's poem “I love a thunderstorm in early May...”
The author chooses a thunderstorm, which often happens in the spring, as the main theme of his poem. For the lyricist, it is associated with a certain movement forward, the transformation of life, its changes, the birth of something new and long-awaited, new and unexpected thoughts and views. Now there is no room for stagnation and decline.
The poet-philosopher does not go only into the natural world, since this unusual and beautiful world is always interconnected with man, they cannot exist without each other. Tyutchev finds many common provisions in these two worlds - human and nature. For the poet, spring is a flight of feelings, emotions, and the whole general mood of a person. These feelings are trembling and incredibly beautiful, because for the author spring is youth and strength, it is youth and necessary renewal. This is openly stated by the poet, who shows how sweetly the birds sing, how wonderfully thunder rumbles, how magnificently the rain makes noise. In the same way, a person grows up who, growing up, enters adulthood and openly and boldly declares himself.
That is why Tyutchev’s images are so bright and rich:
➥ Water.
➥ Sky.
➥ Sun.
The poet needs them in order to more fully show the idea of the unity of man with the world around him. All natural phenomena are shown by Fyodor Ivanovich as if they were people. The lyricist attributes to them traits that are usually inherent only to people. This is how the talented and original lyricist demonstrates the unity of man, who is the divine principle, with the natural world. Thus, the author in his works compares thunder with a baby who plays briskly and makes noise. The cloud also has fun and laughs, especially when it spills water and makes it rain. Tyutchev’s poem is also interesting in that it represents a kind of monologue of the main character, the composition of which consists of four stanzas. The story begins with an easy and relaxed description of a spring thunderstorm, and only then a detailed description of all the main events is given. At the end of his monologue, the author also turns to the mythology of Ancient Greece, which allows him to unite nature and man, showing that nature and human life have their own life cycle.
Artistic and expressive means of Tyutchev's poem
In his simple poem, the poet uses iambic tetrameter and pyrrhic, which convey all the melody. The lyricist uses cross rhyme, which helps to give expressiveness to the entire work. Male and female rhyme alternate in Tyutchev's poem. To more fully reveal the created poetic image, the author uses a wide variety of artistic means of speech.
The lyricist uses alliteration for the melodic and sonorous structure of his work, since he often sounds “r” and “r”. In addition, a huge number of sonorant consonants are used. It is also noteworthy that the poet resorts to gerunds and personal verbs, which help to show the movement and how it gradually develops. The author manages to achieve that the reader sees a rapid change of frames, where the thunderstorm is presented in its most varied manifestations. All this is achieved by the skillful use of metaphors, epithets, inversion and personification.
All this gives expressiveness and brightness to Tyutchev’s entire work.
Analysis of Tyutchev’s poem “I love a thunderstorm in early May...”
It is best to consider Tyutchev's poem from a philosophical point of view. The author tried to accurately depict one of life’s moments, of which there are countless in the life of nature and man. The lyricist made him not discouraged, but very cheerful and full of energy.
The poet shows only one spring day in May, when there is a downpour and a thunderstorm rumbles. But this is only a superficial perception of Tyutchev’s work. After all, in it the lyricist showed the entire emotional palette and sensuality of what is happening in nature. A thunderstorm is not just a natural phenomenon, but also the state of a person who strives for freedom, tries to hurry to live, strives forward, where new and unknown horizons open up for him. If it rains, it cleanses the earth, awakens it from hibernation and renews it. Not everything in life goes away forever; much comes back, such as the May thunderstorm, the sound of rain and streams of water that will always appear in the spring.
Some young people will now be replaced by others who are just as brave and open. They do not yet know the bitterness of suffering and disappointment and dream of conquering the whole world. This inner freedom is very similar to a thunderstorm.
The sensual world of Tyutchev's poem
This work contains a huge sensory and emotional world. The author's thunder is like a young man who, with his shoulders squared, is rushing towards freedom. Just recently he was dependent on his parents, but now a new life and new feelings are taking him into a completely different world. A stream of water quickly runs down the mountain, and the poet-philosopher compares it with young people who already understand what awaits them in life, their goal is high, and they strive for it. Now they will always stubbornly go to her.
But someday, youth will pass, and the time will come to remember, think, and rethink. The author is already at the age when he regrets some of the actions of his youth, but for him this time, free and bright, rich in its emotional terms, always remains the best. Tyutchev's poem is a small work that has deep meaning and emotional richness.
I love the storm in early May,
When spring, the first thunder,
as if frolicking and playing,
Rumbling in the blue sky.
Young peals thunder,
The rain is splashing, the dust is flying,
Rain pearls hung,
And the sun gilds the threads.
A swift stream runs down the mountain,
The noise of birds in the forest is not silent,
And the din of the forest and the noise of the mountains -
Everything cheerfully echoes the thunder.
You will say: windy Hebe,
Feeding Zeus's eagle,
A thunderous goblet from the sky,
Laughing, she spilled it on the ground.
Analysis of the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” by Tyutchev
Tyutchev is rightfully considered one of the best Russian poets who sang nature in his works. His lyrical poems are characterized by amazing melody. Romantic admiration for the beauty of nature, the ability to notice the most insignificant details - these are the main qualities of Tyutchev’s landscape lyrics.
The work was created in 1828 abroad, but in the mid-50s. has undergone significant author's revision.
The poem “Spring Thunderstorm” is an enthusiastic monologue of the lyrical hero. This is an example of an artistic description of a natural phenomenon. For many poets, spring is the happiest time of the year. It is associated with the revival of new hopes and the awakening of creative forces. In a general sense, a thunderstorm is a dangerous phenomenon associated with the fear of being struck by lightning. But many people are waiting for the first spring thunderstorm, which is associated with the final victory over winter. Tyutchev was able to perfectly describe this long-awaited event. A formidable natural element appears before the reader as a cheerful and joyful phenomenon, carrying within itself a renewal of nature.
Spring rain washes away not only the dirt left after a harsh winter. It cleanses human souls of all negative emotions. Probably everyone in childhood wanted to get caught in the first rain.
The first thunderstorm is accompanied by “spring... thunder”, echoing in the mind of the lyrical hero with beautiful music. The sound of a natural symphony is complemented by the babbling of streams and the singing of birds. All flora and fauna triumph at these sounds. A person also cannot remain indifferent. His soul merges with nature in a single world harmony.
The meter of the verse is iambic tetrameter with cross rhyme. Tyutchev uses a variety of expressive means. Epithets express bright and joyful feelings (“first”, “blue”, “agile”). Verbs and gerunds enhance the dynamics of what is happening and are often personifications (“frolic and playing”, “the stream is running”). The poem as a whole is characterized by a large number of verbs of movement or action.
In the finale, the poet turns to ancient Greek mythology. This emphasizes the romantic orientation of Tyutchev’s work. The use of the epithet of the “high” style (“boiling loudly”) becomes the final solemn chord in a natural musical work.
The poem “Spring Thunderstorm” has become a classic, and its first line “I love thunderstorms at the beginning of May” is often used as a catchphrase.
I love the storm in early May,
When spring, the first thunder,
as if frolicking and playing,
Rumbling in the blue sky.
Young peals thunder,
The rain is splashing, the dust is flying,
Rain pearls hung,
And the sun gilds the threads.
A swift stream runs down the mountain,
The noise of birds in the forest is not silent,
And the din of the forest and the noise of the mountains -
Everything cheerfully echoes the thunder.
You will say: windy Hebe,
Feeding Zeus's eagle,
A thunderous goblet from the sky,
Laughing, she spilled it on the ground.
Lines familiar to everyone from 5th grade. Over time, you can forget the full text and the author’s last name, but the emotional message will be remembered forever - festive, bright, childishly sweet.
Prehistory
The legendary poem (sometimes called “Spring Thunderstorm”) was written in 1828 by F.I. Tyutchev. It must be said that the poet’s career was no less important than his poetic career. The diplomatic service is the main activity, and poetry, as they would now note, is a hobby of a government official.
Why is it that out of Tyutchev’s 400 poems, this one fills souls with a bright expectation of happiness? The author is only 25 years old at the time of writing. He is young and, apparently, in love. The state of constant love was characteristic of him, like Pushkin. Maybe this is where poets drew their source of inspiration? The enthusiastic, life-affirming tone, the beauty of epithets and metaphors - this is what attracts 4 stanzas of the poem.
A wonderful phenomenon of beautiful nature
The May thunderstorm is an impressive natural phenomenon. It is fleeting and delightful. Despite its terrifying power, a thunderstorm in May is a symbol of the rebirth of life. Spring showers water the young greenery with life-giving moisture. To describe his feelings, Tyutchev used iambic tetrameter.
The entire poem consists of 4 stanzas. Each has 4 lines. Stress falls on even syllables. The result is a laconic but colorful presentation of the poet’s thoughts.
His thunder behaves like a playful child - frolicking and playing. Why is that? He was just born - in May. “Young” peals of thunder do not frighten, but delight. I’m tempted to jump out of the house under the “pearls of rain” illuminated by the sun. How you want to start dancing, to wash your face and body with the moisture of a spring thunderstorm! Not only people rejoice at the downpour, but in the forest “the din of birds is not silent.” He “echoes the thunder cheerfully,” just like the echo in the mountains.
The poet resorts to a deep, beautiful metaphor, comparing the rain with the contents of Hebe's cup. Why did he turn to Greek mythology? It seems that the author associates the eternally young daughter of Zeus with the beauty of spring. The cup contains her divine nectar. The beautiful, laughing, mischievous Hebe sheds life-giving moisture on the earth. Tyutchev was an expert on the Greek epic, so he chose the most expressive image, in his opinion. It's hard to disagree with him.
You can very easily paint a picture of a rainy May day in your imagination if you read the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” by Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev. The poet wrote this work in 1828, while he was in Germany, and then, in 1854, corrected it. The main attention in the poem is paid to an ordinary natural phenomenon - a thunderstorm, but the author managed to reproduce all its details so accurately and expressively that this poem still evokes admiration among readers.
Spring was the poet's favorite time of year. It symbolized for him the beginning of a new life, the awakening of nature. Comparing each season with a period of human life, Tyutchev perceived spring as youth. He describes natural phenomena using human characteristics. Tyutchev's thunder frolics and plays like a child, he calls its peals young, and a thundercloud laughs, spilling water on the ground. Spring thunder is like a young man who is taking his first steps into independent adult life. He is also cheerful and carefree, and his life flies like a stormy stream, without knowing any obstacles. Despite the cheerful mood, there is a slight sadness in the poem. The poet seems to regret those times when he himself was young and carefree.
The last quatrain of the poem turns the reader to ancient Greek mythology. The poet draws an invisible line connecting an ordinary natural phenomenon with the divine principle. From a philosophical point of view, Tyutchev emphasizes that in this world everything repeats itself, and just as spring thunder thundered hundreds of years ago, it will thunder in exactly the same way hundreds of years after us. To conduct a literature lesson in the classroom, you can download here the text of Tyutchev’s poem “Spring Thunderstorm” in full. You can also learn this piece by heart online.
I love the storm in early May,
When spring, the first thunder,
as if frolicking and playing,
Rumbling in the blue sky.
Young peals thunder,
The rain is splashing, the dust is flying,
Rain pearls hung,
And the sun gilds the threads.
A swift stream runs down the mountain,
The noise of birds in the forest is not silent,
And the din of the forest and the noise of the mountains -
Everything cheerfully echoes the thunder.
You will say: windy Hebe,
Feeding Zeus's eagle,
A thunderous goblet from the sky,
Laughing, she spilled it on the ground.
“I love a thunderstorm at the beginning of May...” - this is how one of the most popular works by Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev begins. The poet did not write many poems, but they are all imbued with deep philosophical meaning and written in a beautiful style. He felt nature very subtly and was able to detect the slightest changes occurring in it. Spring is the poet’s favorite time; it symbolizes youth, freshness, renewal, and beauty. Perhaps this is why Tyutchev’s poem “Spring Storm” is filled with cheerfulness, love and hope for a better future.
A little about the author
Fyodor Tyutchev was born on November 23, 1803 in the Bryansk region in Ovstug, where he spent his childhood, but he spent his youth in Moscow. The poet was educated at home and also graduated from Moscow University with a candidate's degree in literary sciences. From his youth, Tyutchev was interested in poetry, took an active part in literary life, and tried to write his own works. It so happened that Fyodor Ivanovich spent almost 23 years of his life in a foreign land, working as an official of the Russian diplomatic mission in Munich.
Despite the fact that contact with his homeland was interrupted for a long time, the poet described Russian nature in his works. After reading his poems, one gets the impression that he wrote them not in distant Germany, but somewhere in the wilderness of Russia. During his life, Tyutchev did not write many works, because he worked as a diplomat and translated the works of his German colleagues, but all his works are filled with harmony. Through his work, the poet tirelessly repeated to people that man is an integral part of nature; we must not forget about this even for a moment.
The history of writing the poem
“I love a thunderstorm in early May...” - this poem, or rather its first version, was written by Fyodor Tyutchev in 1828, at that time he was in Germany, working there as a diplomat. Reading the lines of the work, a person sees before his eyes a clouded sky, hears the roar of thunder and the murmur of rivulets of water that formed on the road after heavy rain.
It is difficult to imagine how the poet was able to so accurately convey the nature of Russia, being at that time far from his homeland. It should be said that the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” first saw the light in 1828, and immediately after writing, Fyodor Ivanovich published it in the magazine “Galatea”. After 26 years, the poet returned to his work again; in 1854, he added the second stanza and slightly changed the first.
Main theme of the verse
The main theme of the work is a spring thunderstorm, since for the author it is associated with change, movement forward, expulsion of stagnation and decline, the birth of something new, the emergence of other views and ideas. In almost all of his works, Fyodor Ivanovich drew a parallel between nature and the human world, finding some common features. Spring (judging by the love with which the poet describes this time of year) causes Tyutchev to tremble and lift his spirits.
And this is not just like that, because spring days are associated with youth, beauty, strength, and renewal. Just as nature loudly announces the arrival of warmth with the singing of birds, the rumble of thunder, the sound of a downpour, so a person, having stepped into adulthood, strives to publicly declare himself. Analysis of the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” by Tyutchev only emphasizes the unity of people with the world around them. What else can you say about this work?
Unity of the divine with nature
“I love a thunderstorm at the beginning of May...” - Fyodor Tyutchev specifically used end-to-end images of water, sky and sun in the work in order to better and more clearly show the idea of the unity of man with the environment. Various natural phenomena in the poem seem to come to life, the author attributes human traits to them. Thunder is compared to a baby who is playing and frolicking, a cloud, having fun and laughing, spills water, and the stream runs.
The poem is written in the form of a monologue by the main character; it consists of four stanzas. First, the image of a thunderstorm is introduced, then the main events unfold, and at the end the author refers us to ancient Greek mythology, uniting nature with the divine principle, showing the cyclical nature of our world.
The sound fullness of the verse
An analysis of the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” by Tyutchev shows how the poet was able, with the help of pyrrhichium, to fill the work with melody and light sound. The author used cross rhyme, alternating between feminine and masculine rhymes. Fyodor Ivanovich revealed using various artistic means.
To make the picture sound, the poet used a huge number and alliteration of “r” and “r”. He also resorted to gerunds and personal verbs, which created movement and development of action. Tyutchev managed to achieve the effect of rapidly changing frames in which the thunderstorm is depicted in various manifestations. Well-chosen metaphors, epithets, inversion, and personification also played a significant role in giving the verse expressiveness and brightness.
Analysis of work from a philosophical point of view
An analysis of the poem “Spring Thunderstorm” by Tyutchev shows that the poet in the work described only one of the many moments of life. To make it cheerful, full of energy, vigorous, the author chose a May day with rain and a rumbling thunderstorm. The verse must be considered from a philosophical point of view, because this is the only way to reveal the whole gamut of feelings, to understand what exactly Fyodor Ivanovich wanted to convey to the reader.
A thunderstorm is not just a natural phenomenon, but a person’s desire to break out of his shackles, run forward, open new horizons, and come up with different ideas. Warm May rain seems to finally awaken the earth from winter hibernation, cleans it, and renews it. Why a spring thunderstorm, and not a summer or autumn one? Perhaps Tyutchev wanted to show precisely the impulsiveness and beauty of youth, to convey his own feelings, because when he first sat down to write a poem, the poet was still quite young. He made adjustments to his work at a more mature age, looking at the days that had passed irrevocably from the height of life experience.
The emotional content of the poem
“I love a thunderstorm in early May...” - how many indescribable emotions are contained in this short line. The author associates spring thunder with a young man just spreading his wings, preparing to set out on a free voyage. The young man has just escaped from parental care, he is ready to move mountains, which is why he is experiencing such a surge of emotions. The stream running down the mountain is also compared to young people who have not decided what they will do, what business they will devote their lives to, but stubbornly rush forward.
Youth passes, and then a period of rethinking one’s actions begins - this is exactly what the author talks about in the poem “Spring Thunderstorm”. F.I. Tyutchev regrets his past youth, when he was healthy, strong, cheerful, free from obligations.
The poet's main idea
In this world, everything is cyclical, the same events are repeated, people experience similar emotions - this is what Fyodor Ivanovich wanted to warn his descendants about. No matter how many hundreds of years have passed, but every year people will hear the roar of May thunder, enjoy the sound of spring rain, and watch the nimble streams running along the road. Hundreds of years from now, young people will still enjoy freedom and think that they are the rulers of the world. Then the time will come for maturity and rethinking of one’s actions, but they will be replaced by new youth who have not known the bitterness of disappointment and want to conquer the world.
Tyutchev wanted to focus on what a spring thunderstorm gives a feeling of freedom, peace and internal cleansing. Analysis of the poem suggests that the author was nostalgic for the long-gone days when he was young. At the same time, Fyodor Ivanovich understands perfectly well that the processes of personality formation are inevitable. A person is born, grows, matures, gains life experience and worldly wisdom, grows old, dies - and there is no escape from this. In tens of years, other people will rejoice in the spring thunderstorm and May rain, make plans for the future and conquer the world. This makes me a little sad, but that’s how life works.
The beauty and deep meaning of the verse
You can write a huge work in a beautiful style, but it will not hook the reader, will not leave an indelible mark on his soul. You can compose a short poem with a deep philosophical meaning, but it will be too difficult to understand. Fyodor Tyutchev managed to find a middle ground - his verse is small, beautiful, emotional, with meaning. It’s a pleasure to read such work; it stays in the memory for a long time and makes you think at least a little about your life and rethink some values. This means that the poet achieved his goal.
